Gorizia

Gorizia (gōrēˈtsēä) [key], Ger. Görz (gûrts), city (1991 pop. 38,505), capital of Gorizia prov., Friuli–Venezia Giulia, NE Italy, on the Isonzo River and on the Slovenian border. It is an industrial, commercial, transport, and tourist center. Manufactures include textiles, leather goods, processed food, and machines. Located in the historic region of Friuli, Gorizia was the seat of a duchy from c.1000 to 1500. It passed to the Hapsburgs in 1508 but preserved a remarkable autonomy until the 18th cent. From 1815 to 1918 the Austrian crown land of Görz-Gradisca (Slovenian Gorica ) was included in Küstenland prov. In World War I, Gorizia and the surrounding area in the Karst were the scene of bloody battles (see Isonzo). The Italians took Gorizia in 1916, evacuated it in 1917, and recovered it in 1918. Gorizia was excepted from the cession in 1947 of E Friuli to Yugoslavia; on the eastern limit of the Italian city is the new Slovenian community of Nova Gorica. Gorizia has a 16th-century fortress, a Gothic cathedral (14th cent., rebuilt 17th cent.), and the Church of St. Ignatius (1680–1725).